No One For Me
by ChipmunkFan1000
Summary: The sequel to my first story, The Abyss. No one is right for Charlotte Seville. Could this possibly change?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

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**This is a sort of sequel to my first story; The Abyss. You might want to go read that first, although you could probably enjoy this without so doing.  
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**Even if you don't read the whole story, you should definitely read the last chapter, as it explains a few things that will appear in this story, most notably; Charlotte.  
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**In any case, sit back, relax, and read.**

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My name was Charlotte Seville. I was twelve years old, but most of the people I knew were thirteen or fourteen, so I sometimes thought of myself as older than I really was. I was in seventh grade, and school wasn't too cruel, but I wouldn't say that I was happy there.**  
**

I was not stupid; I would probably have been considered pretty smart, but I was usually compared to my parents. My dad was a physicist, and my mom was a teacher, and they were very good at what they did. I wasn't really sure _what_ I wanted to do, so I didn't know in what to improve.

Then there was the social side of life. I was the child left over when the class chose partners. I was the last to be picked in every sport. I was not really bullied, but I only had a couple of friends, and neither of them were very close. My friends were better friends with each other, than they were with me, so they usually partnered up together.

My parents told me that popularity is overrated, that the 'popular' kids are usually the ones by whom I shouldn't be influenced. Nonetheless, I did wish I could feel popular at school for once, but I didn't want to change my ways to match those uncouth rebels.

I wasn't really a nerd, but apparently not overly attractive, either. Boys generally didn't like me, and I hadn't met any boys, with whom I would want to spend any time, either. I wish I had, since I could truly have used a good friend, or maybe even more than that.

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"Good morning, Mom." I greeted my mother cheerfully.

"Good morning, Charlotte. How are you today?" My mother asked.

"I'm okay." I stated simply.

"I've made you breakfast. It's waiting on the table." My mother informed me, gesturing toward the dining room.

My parents were relatively well-off, and we had a pretty big house for the three of us. I had no other siblings, but my parents used the spare rooms for various things, from storage to computer farms.

I sat down at the table to eat my daily cereal. I had eaten the same cereal every day, for years. After I had spooned the last of my breakfast into my mouth, I collected my clothes and showered. Following the brushing of my hair, which was a medial length, I checked to make sure I had finished my homework.

"Have a good day, Charlotte." My father stood behind me.

"Thanks, Dad." I replied, turning to the door and he, "You too."

I picked up my backpack and walked outside. It was an average day, children walked on the sidewalk, chatting and laughing cheerfully. I walked with them, though I maintained a separative distance. The other kids had their groups, into which it was difficult to integrate.

When I reached school, there were still a few minutes remaining before the bell would ring. I searched for my two friends in the crowd, and located the pair chatting next to their lockers, which happened to be situated near mine.

"Hi, girls." I greeted them, smiling.

"Hey, Charlotte." Sarah turned me.

"How's it going?" Ebony waved to me. I approached them, to find out about what they were talking.

Out of the two, I was closer to Ebony. Even so, I always felt like a tail to their body, as though I were welcomed to follow them and talk to them, but wasn't truly considered a part of their group. I supposed that this was to be expected, since they had known each other for longer than they had known me.

"I'm doing okay." I replied, moderately cheerful, "How are you guys?"

"I'm fine." Sarah and Ebony spoke in unison. They faced one another and giggled at their perfect synchronization.

"So what were you talking about?" I inquired, and opened my locker.

"Ebony has a crush on Patrick!" Sarah explained. Ebony blushed slightly.

"You don't have to broadcast it like that." Ebony looked around self-consciously, making sure no one else had overheard our conversation.

Patrick was a boy in some of our classes, one of the 'cool' kids, the head of whom was clearly filled only with muscle. I honestly didn't know what she saw in him, but I decided to try to be supportive nonetheless.

"Really? Good for you." I closed my locker after retrieving the items I needed, and strode in the direction of my class, which was a one minute walk from my locker.

I couldn't see why Ebony would like Patrick at all, since he was an idiot. She was usually a very down-to-earth kind of person. In any case, she believed she was in love, and this meant there was probably no logical reasoning that could bring her out of it except a cold rejection and a great deal of time.

This being said, I was in no way trying to profess much knowledge in the realm of love, as I had never been in love before. I frequently wished that I was in love, but none of the boys in my school were right for me. If only I could find a nice caring boy, who was smart and cute, and perfect. Unfortunately, very few people fitted this description in the group with which I was familiar.

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**I may not have actually mentioned any of the chipmunks you know yet, but I guarantee that this story includes them as well.**

**If you haven't read my first story yet, you should know that this story is set in a time when the chipmunks are adults, with children, one of whom is Charlotte. Charlotte's parents are Simon and Jeanette, and there will be a few others introduced later.  
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**A lot of original characters were introduced in this chapter, but this is inherent of the setting of my story.  
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**Please review, and tell me what you think of the first chapter. Any creative criticism is welcome, as usual, and I definitely appreciate the time taken to read my story and review it. I hope you didn't find this chapter boring, but it is the introduction after all.  
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**Anyway, thanks for reading all the way to here, and I hope you review.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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**Here is the second chapter of my second story. I hope you enjoy it.  
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I had to get to my homeroom with Sarah and Ebony. It seemed like a normal day at first, walking behind my friends and thinking of things that would make my life better. Ebony couldn't stop babbling about her favorite boy. I didn't blame her for it, since I would probably do the same if I had had a crush on someone. Nonetheless, it was slightly annoying, and continually drew my attention to my own small jealousy. It didn't feel good to know that one of my only friends had the one thing which I had coveted for so long; a prospective boyfriend.

"Alright." Sarah muttered as we entered the classroom. It was moderately large, with various posters pertaining to different scientific subjects hanging on the walls.

Our teacher, Mrs. Eyre replaced her newspaper, which she had been reading before school had started. She began marking the digital roll, which was entirely ordinary, until a name which I hadn't heard before was called.

"Alexander?" Mrs. Eyre inquired.

"Present." An unfamiliar voice proclaimed. There was a new student in our class. Interesting. My name was soon called as well, and I made my presence known.

"Now then, students, as some of you may have noticed, we have a new child attending our school." Two dozen eyes turned to the boy sitting in the previously unoccupied chair. "Alexander Porter well be studying here for the rest of the year."

He was tall and thin, with lanky arms and legs. A black-framed set of spectacles sat on his freckled nose, and his hair was dark, almost black, and covered his forehead down to his eyebrows.

"Why don't you tell the class something about yourself, Alexander?" Mrs. Eyre smiled at him. Alexander slowly rose from his chair. He paused for a few moments, before waving uncertainly to the class,

"Um, hi." He mumbled. He obviously wasn't very confident, perhaps he was bullied at his previous school. "I'm Alexander." He paused and then winced slightly. He waited a few moments before sitting down in his chair again, his face turning red.

"Alright, now who would like to help Alexander become better acquainted with our school?" There was a pause while everyone looked around the room. No hands were raised.

"I see." Our teacher looked around the room. "In that case, I'll choose someone responsible." She studied the room before choosing a boy named Daniel.

Alexander moved to sit opposite Daniel, and his friends. I didn't see much of him for the rest of the day.

Soon enough it was time to go home. I left the school with Ebony and Sarah, but we soon split up, since they lived on a different street. I walked the rest of the way home alone.

"Charlotte, how was school today?" My mother asked me after I had entered the house and embedded myself in the sofa.

"It was okay." I responded with my usual reply. "There was a new kid in school today."

"Really?" My mother exclaimed. She didn't know yet, as I had made clear the fact that I wasn't going to go to the same school as her. "Maybe you should try to be friends with them."

"I don't think so." I said, doubtfully. By the way he behaved, I didn't think he would be winning any popularity contests, and the last thing I needed was to befriend another loner.

"Okay, if you say so." She sighed.

I turned the Television on, to see if there was anything interesting. After flicking through a number of channels, I conceded defeat and walked to my room, or more specifically, to my computer. This was one of those times, when I had nothing else to do, but write in my diary.

I closed my door, and opened my diary file.

_Today a new boy arrived at school. He's a weak, shy kind of person, not someone with whom I would want to associate myself. Mom thinks I should try to befriend him, but I don't think it would be a good idea._

_Still, I probably shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I don't think Dad would approve of my immediate dismissal of an opportunity to make a new friend._

_Nonetheless, I probably won't even notice him tomorrow. There's no point thinking about him anymore.  
_

_Ebony has a crush on another boy in our home group. I don't know what she's thinking, but I suppose I shouldn't worry too much about her either. She can take care of herself.  
_

I read my entry again, and then saved it to the appropriate date. I shut down my computer and returned to the living room, to greet my father when he arrived.

It wasn't long before he walked through the front door.

"Hi dad." I waved to him from the sofa, upon which I had previously been sitting.

"Hello Charlotte." He smiled and returned my wave, "Do you know where Mom is?"

"I think she's in the kitchen." I returned to my contemplation.

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That night, I thought about my diary entry. I was starting to think I was deluding myself. I was never going to be friends with any of the other people in school. If I befriended Alexander, at least I would have a boy with whom to talk. What reason did I have to not, at the very least, introduce myself? Anyway, if I didn't, who would? I didn't _want_ him to be alone.

I wasn't going to ignore him. Otherwise, I would be as bad as the people who ignored me.

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**I hope you weren't bored by this chapter. Once again, I apologize for the number of original characters, but your well known chipmunks will be part of the story as well.**

**Anyway, please review this story, I value everyone's opinion, and any constructive criticism will be welcomed. Your help is appreciated.  
**

**Also, people without a account can now review my stories.  
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**Finally, thank you for reading past the first chapter, it means a lot.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

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**Unfortunately, it is impossible to reply to anonymous reviewers, so I can't answer any questions or debate any points with them. Nonetheless, I will reiterate: Charlotte is the daughter of Simon and Jeanette. The Chipmunks and Chipettes will play a part in the story later, but first I feel it to be important to properly introduce my other characters. Otherwise, they will be shallow and boring throughout the story.  
**

**Also, although I do speak a few languages, I may not be able to read non-English reviews, so if you have something to say to me, please review in English.  
**

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"Charlotte, time to wake up." My eyes opened slowly to the sight of my mother standing over my head, smiling. I wanted to keep sleeping, but I knew I couldn't. Anyway, I had chemistry at school that morning. It would be foolish to be late.

"Good morning, Mom." I yawned as I rose from my nocturnal abode.

"I'll make you breakfast, dear." She said and walked in the direction of the kitchen. I picked out my clothes for the day; a dark blue skirt and light blue shirt.

I walked to school alone once more, looking around for Ebony or Sarah. Instead I spotted Alexander, which was unexpected. I recalled my decision from the night before. I was going to introduce myself.

Later.

I would talk to him at lunch. I had to think of a way to introduce myself. First impressions last, as they say. I had to focus on finding my friends.

I eventually spied Sarah standing next to her locker, which was fairly normal. She was holding a textbook.

"Hi, Sarah." I walked toward her. "How's it going?"

"Hello Charlotte." Sarah fiddled with her book, trying to find a page. "I'm fine."

"So, where's Ebony?" I asked after a pause.

"She went to class." Sarah replied, "Probably to glance over at Patrick every few seconds." Sarah smirked.

"Probably." I giggled, opening my locker to make sure I had all that I needed.

After I was satisfied that I was ready to start school, I left Sarah to herself. I made my way to chemistry class, wondering what was going to happen today.

When I arrived, I was walking through the doors to the lab, when I felt an impact from my right which almost knocked me to the ground.

"Oof." I exclaimed before tripping on a chair leg, turning around and falling on my rear end.

"Ow! What was that for?" I looked around to see what had hit me. I was amazed to find that it was, in fact, none other than Alexander Porter. It was just my luck that he should come running to class just as I was walking through the door.

"Watch where you're going!" I snapped angrily. His face was bright red. I was expecting him to help me up again, or at least apologize. Instead, he just stood beside me, as though he had been struck by lightning.

I stood up and brushed my skirt down, before noticing the rest of the class, who were staring at us, laughing. I walked to my desk as inconspicuously as I could, which was about as inconspicuous as a pink elephant in a grey room.

Great. Now he had embarrassed me, not to mention himself, in front of the whole class. I needn't have worried about my first impression. Nothing I could have said would have been worse than this.

Now he would probably be too ashamed to talk to me again, which would make becoming friends more difficult. I sighed deeply. I was not going to be starting a conversation with him for a long time.

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By lunchtime, I was regretting my initial reaction. Yelling at Alexander didn't make the situation any better. I found that I wasn't really angry at him, as no real harm was done. I should have been slightly more aware of my surroundings anyway.

I wanted to apologize for yelling at him, and I also wanted him to apologize to me. He _had_ knocked me onto the floor, after all.

"What a jerk!" Ebony exclaimed as she sat down next to me, "Why wasn't he looking where he was going?" I shrugged.

"It was an accident." I was slightly surprised to find myself defending him. "He was sorry for it."

"He didn't say so, though." It was true, he hadn't apologized, but I could tell he was sorry.

"I think I'll talk to him." I told her, "Maybe if I say hello he'll apologize to me." Ebony looked at me as though I were insane.

"If you say so, but if I were you, I would let him squirm every time he sees me." I scanned the area for Alexander. He was sitting alone at a table, eating his lunch and writing something on a sheet of paper. I walked to his table and sat down opposite him, placing my lunch before me.

Alexander looked up from his paper to see who had sat down in front of him. His started to blush when he found me eating my lunch at his table.

"Hi." I stated before biting into my sandwich. I waited for his reaction.

"Uh... hi." He mumbled uneasily. I looked up at him, expectantly. He seemed to realize what I wanted to hear.

"Um, I'm sorry about knocking into you before." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"It's okay, I wasn't seriously injured or anything." I took another bite out of my sandwich. "I shouldn't have yelled. It wasn't that bad." This seemed to calm him down slightly, and he jotted something on his sheet of paper.

"I'm Charlotte Seville, by the way." I remembered that he didn't know me.

"I'm Alexander Porter," he looked down at his lunch, "but I guess you know that."

"So, what are you doing?" I asked, looking at his sheet of paper.

"Oh, I'm just practicing integration." I didn't quite know what this meant, but I tried not to show it.

"Cool."

He looked up at me. "I think most people would disagree with you there."

"Most people disagree with me about a lot of things." I replied.

We continued to eat our lunch in silence for some time. Eventually, Alexander resumed our conversation.

"You don't know what integration is, do you?" I considered the question before deciding that it would be prudent to confirm his supposition.

"Not really. No." I shook my head, giggling.

"It basically means finding the area under the line of a function plotted on a graph." He moved the paper into the center of the table, "I can show you how, if you want."

"Uhh-" I was cut off by the school bell. "Maybe another time." I stood up and stretched.

"See you." I left him to figure out what had just happened. I supposed that he didn't usually have extended conversations with girls.

"Bye." He replied, collecting his things.

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That night, I decided to write another quick diary entry. A lot had happened that day, and I wanted to record it before I forgot.

_Today, I changed my mind about Alexander. I was going to talk to him, but before I got the chance, he knocked me onto the floor._

_It was an accident, though, so I forgave him. He seems like a nice person, once he starts talking, but he's really shy and lacks self-confidence.  
_

_I managed to start a conversation with him, and he apologized for knocking me over. I think, if I get to know him better, he could be a good friend.  
_

I saved the document, and shut down my computer for the night. I slithered into my blankets, closed my eyes and fell asleep.

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**So there you have it; chapter 3. The chipmunks will be in one of the next couple of chapters, I guarantee.**

**Please review the chapter and feel free to give me any advice, as I do take it into account.  
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**Thank you for reading this far, and remember that if you want a reply to a review, you need an account on , otherwise I can't reach you.  
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**So, Unhello for another week. :)  
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	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

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**Thank you to the reviewers, for motivating me to write the next chapter.  
**

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It was the weekend. My father was going to meet someone outside California, and my mother needed to attend a lecture on Saturday, so I was going to stay with Uncle Theo and Aunt Ellie for the weekend. I liked staying with my cousins, as they were lots of fun and didn't ignore me.

I had packed my sleeping bag, pajamas, a change of clothes, so we got into the car and drove in the direction of their house. My Aunt and Uncle lived in a suburban home not far from our house, relatively speaking. It didn't take us long to arrive, and we were knocking on their door in no time.

"Ah, come in, come in." We were greeted kindly by Uncle Theo. "Hello Charlotte. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks." I said politely. Aunt Ellie gestured for me to come further into the house.

"So how are you, Simon, Jeanette?" I heard Uncle Theo speak to my parents as I walked towards my two twin cousins, Michal and Jessie.

"Hi Charlotte." I was greeted with much gusto, the twins speaking in unison.

"Hey." I replied. I looked to see what they had been doing prior to my arrival. They had been playing a video game on the living room television.

"What game are you playing?" I asked.

"It's only two player." Michael started.

"We'll do something else." Jessie finished.

"How about we play a game of three-player four-dimensional chess?" Michal suggested. He was the older twin, and frequently exercised the rights wherewith he had been bestowed by himself. They were both a year-and-a-half older than I was. Jessie and I agreed, and Michal started up the game.

"So how has school been?" Jessie asked while Michal was searching through a drawer.

"It's been okay; I've been holding out." I said with a smile. "There's a new kid in our school, a boy named Alexander." I explained to Jessie the happenings of the day in which I had been 'overturned'.

"Sounds like he should have been more careful." Jessie looked thoughtful, "If you'd fallen and hit your head on the corner of a table, you might have gotten a serious injury." I supposed she was right, notwithstanding I didn't really care anymore. It was an accident, he wasn't _trying_ to hurt me, and even if he had been trying, I was unscathed.

"Alright, girls." Michal turned to us, "We can play now. I love this game."

I took my controller and looked up at the television intently. four-dimensional chess was much more difficult to play, as the board's shape appeared to change as it rotated in the fourth dimension. At any one time, all I could see was a three-dimensional shadow of a four-dimensional chess board projected onto a two-dimensional screen.

I usually won in these kinds of games, even though I was the youngest. My mother was a teacher, after all, and I was made well aware of it. I was brought up to think logically and mathematically, and I was none the worse for it.

I made my first move, and soon I had taken eight of my cousins' pieces.

"Haha!" I exclaimed as I removed Michal's queen from the board.

"I hate this game." Michal said dryly, "I'm going to get something to eat. would you two like anything?"

"No thanks." I replied.

"I'll get something to eat later." Jessie put her controller onto the sofa. "So what do you want to do now?" Jessie addressed me.

Eventually I sat down at Aunt Ellie's grand piano and started to play some songs. Soon Michal picked up his guitar and Jessie began to sing. Had we not been in school, we might have wanted to start a band.

As I played the last note, we were given a standing ovation by Uncle Theo and Aunt Ellie, who had presently joined us.

"Bravo." They cheered, as we took a bow. I enjoyed music, and even took piano lessons for a while. It was a shame that I didn't have more opportunities to play music with my cousins.

By this time, it was late evening. We set up our sleeping bags along the separated lines of a hexagon, so that no one's feet were in anyone's face, but we were all equal in status.

"Good night, kids." Aunt Ellie closed the door on her way out, after her gesture had been reciprocated by each of us. We slipped into our sleeping bags.

"Good night, Jessie. Good night, Charlotte." Michal closed his eyes.

"Good night, Michal and Jessie." I shuffled further into my sleeping bag.

"Good night, everyone." Jessie said and turned off the light.

The next morning, when I awoke, I was disoriented at first. I was staring at a ceiling nothing like my own. I quickly remembered where I was, though, and looked around to ascertain the location of my cousins. I soon found that they had awoken before I had.

I slid out of my sleeping bag and stood up. I next looked at the clock in the corner of my cousins' room to find out the time. It was after twelve o'clock.

"Oh no." I groaned and walked into the living room to find Uncle Theo and Aunt Ellie cooking in the adjacent kitchen, which was highly elaborate.

"Good afternoon, Charlotte." Uncle Theo smiled broadly at me.

"Did you sleep well?" Aunt Ellie inquired.

"Yeah, I slept okay." I replied, uncomfortably. I had slept for half of the day!

"Lunch will be ready soon, so you won't need breakfast." Uncle Theo told me, "Michal and Jessie are outside." I nodded and walked into their back yard. It was relatively large, with a pair of swings which looked like they were unused for a number of years.

"Hey Charlotte." I was greeted by my cousins.

"How are you this morning?" Jessie asked.

"I'm fine, thanks." I replied. I noticed Michal let out a stifled giggle. "What?" I asked. left with no answer, I pushed further. "What are you laughing at?"

"We were trying to get to sleep last night," Jessie began.

"When you started talking." Michal continued, "After a while we realized you were asleep." I gaped at them.

"I- don't talk in my sleep." I said, slightly shocked.

"And you said some strange things." Jessie continued.

"Like what?" I started blushing.

"Oh, random things." Michal said. I was relieved. "Like, 'I love you so much.'" He quoted in a girly voice, chuckling. I felt my face turn bright red. I had said that in my sleep?

"Did I- happen to say... who?" I stuttered, incredibly embarrassed.

"Nope," Jessie spoke, "but it's nothing to be ashamed of." I wished I could agree.

There was soon a knock on the door. It was time for me to return to my home, that dwelling in which I could innocently babble in my sleep with not a soul to listen to my musings. I decided that I had probably imagined up some kind of literal 'dream-boy'. I was, unfortunately, not in love with anyone.

Even so, I was too embarrassed to return to my cousins for some time. It was scary to know that I could give away any secret in my sleep without even knowing it.

I was quiet for the whole trip back. My mother noticed this, but said nothing, only looked worried. After a few minutes, we were parked outside our house.

"Home, sweet home." My father said, contentedly looking around at our surroundings to make sure that nothing had been changed. After becoming satisfied with the state of our home, we entered.

I walked directly to my room, and closed the door quietly behind me. I needed something to distract me from my cousins. I looked around my room, my eyes landing on my old dusty keyboard. I brushed the keys down, and connected a pair of headphones.

I was thus engaged for the most part of the day, and soon I had almost forgotten about by shameful and un-spy-worthy habit. Dinner coaxed me out of my room eventually.

I slept that night, looking forward to seeing my friends again. I now considered Alexander one of my friends as well, although we had only spoken once.

I wanted this fact to change.

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**See? The chipmunks and Chippettes are part of this story too, and although they aren't the main characters, they still play a major role.**

**So, I hope I haven't disappointed anyone with the lack of real romance, but I'll get there soon. If I jump straight to the good part, the rest of the story will be pointless. Better to stretch romantic stories out over many chapters than to concentrate the romance in a single place. This, I feel, may have been a failing point in The Abyss.  
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**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review. It helps me a lot.  
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**Thanks again for reading this far. I hope you come back for the next chapter.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

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**Hello again, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for reading my may read on.  
**

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It was another Monday morning, the same as every other, except for one thing; I was looking forward to going to school today. I didn't know why, but I wanted to see Alexander again. It was strange, but I supposed I was lonely and needed a friend. Alexander was a chance to gain another friend and I wasn't going to pass it up.**  
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I was walking to school the usual way; alone, when I spotted a group of people crowded around the entrance. I walked into the crowd to see what was happening.

I was shocked to find a boy sitting on the ground, clutching his stomach, with another boy standing over him. Was there a fight? Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that the boy on the ground, who was obviously losing, was none other than Alexander Porter. I looked up to see his aggressor, and after pushing a few people out of my line of sight, I saw his face; it was Patrick!

The fight appeared to be over, as the other people moved off, and some of them walked towards the locker room with Patrick, laughing to themselves. I rushed over to him, to ask what had happened.

"Alexander, what was that about?" I asked, worriedly.

"They called me a nerd, so I said I wasn't one." He explained, "They pushed me over and took my homework from my bag." Alexander was almost on the verge of crying.

"That Patrick is going to get what he deserves." I exclaimed, helping him up off the ground, "I'm going to tell the principle right now."

"No!" Alexander grabbed my arm before I could walk away, "That would only make things worse. They would probably beat me up again."

"We have to tell the principle, or he'll beat you up again, _and _get away with it." I could see that he was too scared of the bullies to dob them in.

"No." He replied quietly, "Just leave it." I hated to see that Patrick get off scot-free. I had to make him pay somehow, even if Alexander refused to tell the principle.

"Alright, fine." I unwillingly agreed. We both walked to our lockers, which were separated by a sizable distance.

As I opened my locker, I noticed Ebony, standing not far away. I had to tell her about Patrick.

"Hi, Ebony." I greeted her.

"Hey, Charlotte, how are you?" She turned to me.

"Did you see what Patrick did this morning?" I asked, angrily. I was met with a blank look.

"No." She eventually replied, cautiously, "What did he he do?"

"He beat up Alexander!" I exclaimed. Ebony looked surprised.

"It serves him right, if you ask me, considering he knocked you over." I couldn't believe I was hearing this.

"He's a bully, Ebony." I almost yelled, "I can't believe you're defending him."

"I don't understand why _you're_ defending him!" I was slightly taken aback. Why was I defending him?

"I suppose I don't like seeing bullies pick on people smaller and weaker than they are." I retorted.

"New kids always get bullied when they start school." She answered calmly, "It doesn't help that he's such a nerd."

"That's not true, and even if it were, it shouldn't be like that." I looked away and crossed my arms.

"I'm late for class already." I was in disbelief as Ebony walked away. She couldn't have just sided with Patrick. I was deeply disappointed in her.

I slowly walked after her to our class. I had to think of something to put Patrick in his place. It had to be something that would be as harsh as stealing Alexander's homework, but of course, they wouldn't care if I did that. It would have to be more specifically targeted to whatever he found important.

It was a strange feeling, plotting to avenge someone. I had never thought that _I_ would be the one to do something like this, and yet, there I was.

I didn't know Patrick well enough to be able to know what he cared about, but I had a feeling that Ebony would know a lot more about him than I did. The problem was that I had just started an argument with her, and she had evidently taken offence. Tthat she would be willing to help me emotionally damage her crush was highly doubtful.

For now, I had to continue as normal, until my chance arose. He had to feel what it was like to be bullied himself, but there was no use rushing things.

I walked into the classroom, and looked around the room. There were two desks left over; one was next to Sarah and Ebony, and the other was to the right of Alexander. I sat down in the latter.

He looked surprised to see me choose him over my friends, but he didn't know about mine and Ebony's earlier difference in opinion.

"Hi." I said simply before the teacher began calling the names on the digital roll. He opened his mouth but quickly closed it again and said nothing.

The rest of the morning was mostly ordinary. It was soon time for our morning recess, at which time I looked for Alexander. I didn't want a repeat offence to occur while I wasn't with him. I spotted him eating a carrot, alone at a table. I sat down beside him once more.

"Hello, Alexander." I greeted him, expecting a response. He was silent for some time, before asking me a question.

"You didn't tell the principle about what happened, did you?" He stared down at his half eaten carrot.

"Of course not." I replied, "You told me not to tell, so I didn't." He sighed with relief. The relief was short-lived, because no sooner had I finished speaking, I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey, it's Alexandria and her bodyguard." Patrick snickered.

"Why don't you just leave him alone?" I said sourly.

"Because I don't want to!" He replied, laughing. His friends laughed as well, as though on cue.

"Come on." I said to Alexander, "Let's go somewhere else to eat. I'm sure that everyone who has a life of their own will go waste it on something else." I aimed my remark at Patrick more than at Alexander.

We walked to a different part of the school, looking back occasionally to see if Patrick and his 'goons' were following us. After being satisfied that we were free of the small gang, we sat once more to finish our food.

"Thanks for standing up for me." Alexander said to me, looking down at the table whereat we were sitting.

"That's okay." I replied.

"No, really, thank you." He said seriously, "No one ever did that at my old school." I looked over to him. I had figured that he had been bullied previously, considering his shyness and uncertainty.

"Well, now you're at this one." His mouth turned up into a smile, which was nice. I hadn't seen him smile at all since the first time I had met him.

"So how are you liking this school, anyway, apart from those jerks?" I asked.

"Well, it's better than my last one, but they teach just about the same things." He explained, "I suppose here I have someone to stop the cool kids from killing me."

I was surprised to hear him say that. He had just said that this school was better than his last one because of me! I supposed it made sense, though, since here he had someone to defend him. The school bell started to ring, cutting our conversation short. We made our way to our next class.

I had never been told something like that before. It made me extremely happy to know that someone thought I made his new school happy.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. I got home after four o'clock and played a song on my keyboard. There was a lot to write in my diary that night, and after I had saved the file, it was as follows:

_Today, Alexander got pushed over by Patrick. He's a mean bully, but Ebony has a crush on him, and when I told her about what Patrick had done, we got into an argument. Now we're not really talking to each other._

_After a while, Patrick started calling Alexander names, so I told him to leave us alone and walked away with Alexander. He told me that our school is better than his old one because of me!_

_I don't know what I'm going to do with Ebony, she doesn't see that Patrick is a mean person, who doesn't deserve her love. I don't think we'll be friends until she realizes that I'm right._

I decided to leave out my decision to pay Patrick back for hurting Alexander, in case someone ever read my diary and thought that I was doing something criminal.

Anyway, I hadn't yet thought of a way to pay him back at all.

* * *

**Okay, I've written the fifth chapter. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, but I'm interested to hear what you think, and by 'hear' I mean 'read'.**

**Please review this chapter, I always welcome creative criticism or any questions (apart from 'How is it going to end?').**

**Thank you again for reaching this point and I appreciate the time taken to actually read my story. I have enjoyed writing these stories, and enjoyed the reviews even more, so I ask that you please let me know if you liked or disliked this story, and why.**

**Unhello. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

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**Here is the sixth chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

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It wasn't long before I had found a way to pay Patrick back for what he had done to Alexander. His life revolved around football, and since Alexander's life seemed to revolve mainly around his schoolwork, it seemed fitting that Patrick should be denied his favorite game for once.

I just couldn't think of a means to reach the desired end. There had to be something I could do to stop him from being able to play.

If he were injured, he wouldn't be playing for some time. Perhaps- No, how could I even think about injuring someone? I almost couldn't believe myself, but I kept thinking about the way in which Alexander had been treated by Patrick. Surely he deserved punishment. Surely he should be hurt back equally.

There was debate happening in my head, whether or not to actually injure Patrick as a way of avenging Alexander's homework and diminished ego?

I was completely decided on injuring him, when I would think of my parents, and what they would surely think, were they to find out. Then I would decide to forgive and forget, but I couldn't forget, and no matter how I tried, I kept thinking back to Alexander's face when he was sitting on the ground, and realized time and again that I couldn't forgive him. It was impossible to choose.

After unending deliberation, I finally concluded that a compromise was in order; I would just bruise his legs so that he couldn't play as vigorously as he would have. Now I had to work out how to bruise his legs.

I couldn't just stand before him and start kicking him. I would just get into trouble. There was a reason for me to get in trouble as well; causing someone pain is terrible.

I was shocked at myself for even deciding to take revenge, let alone actually plan out how to do so. Everything I had been taught told me that hurting Patrick was wrong. I couldn't help but feel the weight of morals on my shoulders. I couldn't do it. There was no way to hurt him anyway. I would just get into trouble, and furthermore, I would never live it down.

My mind was going in circles, but my thoughts were interrupted by the bell. It was time for me to move to my next class, forensics. I followed the other students who were heading to the same class. I sat down in a chair, and noticed Alexander seated some rows in front of me.

"Okay class, if everyone's here, I'll begin." The teacher said, tapping the whiteboard in order to receive our attention.

"Thus far, we have been looking at means." He wrote a word on the whiteboard, "Today we will study motives." He paused and looked around the room.

"Does anyone know what motives are?" He pointed to a student behind me.

"Motives are reasons for doing stuff." The boy explained.

"Very good. Why don't we list some reasons for performing crimes?" He started pointing to various students, and wrote each idea on the board.

"Now, some of these motives go together, like greed and poverty, and love and revenge." Love and revenge. Love and revenge.

It echoed in my head. Why did I care so much that Patrick got what he deserved? He had hurt plenty of other people in the past. I had only decided to take revenge on Patrick when he had hurt Alexander. Could it be possible that I was in love? More importantly, could it be possible that I was in love with Alexander?

The more I thought about it, the more I was certain that it was true. Why had I chosen to side with Alexander over Ebony? Why had I befriended him when no one else had? These questions could both be answered with one statement; I was in love with Alexander.

I was amazed. I had never cared about someone else like I cared about Alexander. It had to be true. There was no other explanation.

After the initial shock of realization, I was faced with another question. What was I going to do about it? He would probably be frightened by a sudden confession of my feelings. Then, I had to know another thing; did _he_ love _me_? He certainly _liked_ me, but I knew only too well that there was a thick line between liking and loving someone. I needed to ask someone for advice, but I just couldn't. I didn't know why I couldn't, but I couldn't._  
_

I needed to think of a way to express my feelings, without sounding like a predator, but for now I would be content just to be with Alexander at lunch. Who could say? He might even tell me he loves me. Then again, I could be thinking egocentrically, and in any case, He didn't seem like the kind of kid who would tell you he loved you.

I was thankful when the bell rang, and we exited the class like a pack of wolves on the trail of some prey. Alexander and I retarded ourselves behind the rest of the students.

For some reason, I couldn't think of a way to start a conversation. I couldn't think of anything apart from the fact that I was in love, and with him. I needed to tell him how I felt, but I couldn't bring myself to say it, so instead we walked under an awkward silence. We eventually sat down at a table to eat lunch. We remained speechless, and I could tell it made Alexander uncomfortable. It was queer, two days ago, I was speaking to him without a problem, and now I couldn't think of anything to say.

What had I been saying before? I could probably just start where we left off. I had been trying to get to know him better. He was talking about his last school.

"So what do you like doing, apart from math?" I eventually piped up.

"I make computer programs, most of the time." He answered simply.

"Really?" I said enthusiastically, "What programs have you made?" Alexander blushed and looked down at his food.

"Well, I actually never finished any of the programs I've started." He looked embarrassed, "I always reach a point where I don't know how to continue, and I end up moving on to another project."

"On what are you working now?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation alive.

"Oh, not anything major." He said, frowning slightly. "I'm trying to make an artificial intelligence for Tetris." Tetris... It was a really old game and, as I recalled, a very hard one.

"That sounds complicated." I admired his ambition, but he had admitted to never finishing his work, which made it less impressive.

"So what do you like doing?" He asked. I thought for some time about this.

"Well, I mainly just browse the internet when I have time." I replied, as I didn't really have a real hobby.

"Ah." He said. I supposed he wasn't impressed. We sat in silence for some time, eating our lunches. I thought about what our forensics teacher had said about love and revenge. I wanted to tell Alexander that I loved him, but my mouth wouldn't comply. I just couldn't bring myself to say it out loud.

I usually wasn't shy, but then, I usually didn't have a crush on someone sitting across the table from me.

"Do you do anything else in your spare time?" I wanted him to say that he did something about which I could hold a conversation. I knew nearly nothing about computer programming.

"Well, when I get too frustrated with my programs, I sometimes play games on my Xbox." Well, it was a start, though I couldn't have expected anything better, as I didn't do many things myself.

"What games do you play?" I asked, hoping that I had played at least one on my cousin's Xbox.

"All sorts of them." He replied, "I usually play Halo 6, though." Great, a game that my parents would never let me buy. I had had trouble just getting a gaming console in the first place, but games like Halo were out of the question. I looked down at my food.

"Why do I get the feeling that that disappoints you?" He asked.

"Well, my parents don't let me play games like that." I just wished that my parents would make an exception. Perhaps if I explained that the game was about killing aliens, and not humans, then they would allow me to buy it.

"My parents never used to let me play any violent games either, but I explained to them that every other person in my school had it."

"Well, you no longer have that excuse." I giggled.

"I suppose not." He replied. He was smiling. He didn't usually smile, but he was, indeed smiling.

The bell interrupted us once more, signalling the end of lunch. We both walked to our next class.

The rest of the day was quite ordinary, but I had some important things to write in my diary.

_I think I'm in love with him. He seemed happier today than he had been, and even smiled. Apparently he likes to play Halo on the Xbox, which is sad because Mom and Dad will never let me buy it._

_I haven't spoken to Ebony much, she seems to be ignoring me. I also think Sarah has sided with her, since she hasn't spoken to me either._

_Even while two of my friends are giving me the silent treatment, I have Alexander with whom to talk, although I found it much harder to start a conversation._

That was the content of my diary for the day. I had written it and sneaked back into my bed, and slowly fallen asleep.

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**So tell me what you think, do you like the story? Do you enjoy it? Why or why not?**

**Anyway, I hope you review this chapter, and enjoy the rest of my story.**

**I have to sleep.**

**Unhello.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

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**I haven't had the best type of day today, so I guess I'll write another chapter to cheer myself up.  
**

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It was a new day, and it was looking up already. The sun was shining, and there were less than a few clouds to be seen. I threw my covers off and rolled out of bed. I had never been so happy in my life. I was in love, and there was nothing else I wanted to think about.

I walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where I found my mother pouring some milk into a bowl of cornflakes.

"Ah, good morning, Mom." I said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Charlotte." She replied, smiling at me, "You're positively glowing this morning." I thought about this for a time, before noticing my own uncharacteristically good mood.

"I'm just happy, that's all." I explained. Of course, I had good reason to be.

"Well, I'm making your breakfast. It'll just be a minute."

"Thanks, Mom." I couldn't wait to get back to school, and see Alexander again. I waited patiently for my mother to finish my breakfast, as 'no daughter of her's would have to make her own breakfast'. I was truly lucky to have them as my parents.

I only wished I could talk to them about Alexander. I didn't know why, but I couldn't pluck up the courage to tell them how I felt, or about whom. I supposed it was better anyway, for now, before I had even told Alexander.

I had to tell him. Surely he wouldn't be surprised, or at least he wouldn't be taken aback, but did he love me back? The question had been running through my head since I had thought of telling him about my love for him. I knew he liked me. That much was obvious. I just needed to find a way to find out whether or not he loved me.

I couldn't just ask him, or it would be obvious, but I also couldn't think of any other way of being sure, and I had to be certain, or I would never be able to live with myself if he didn't say yes. I needed someone's advice, but I couldn't tell my parents.

Why did I feel such an intense objection to asking for advice about love from my parents? I couldn't think of any logical reason, but I still couldn't bring myself to say anything.

How could I ask them? 'Hi Mom, I was wondering if you could help me out. I'm romantically interested in a boy, but I don't know if he loves me.' The more I thought about it, the less sarcastic it sounded in my head. I couldn't phrase it this way, though, it had to sound natural.

"So, who's the lucky guy?" I turned to look at my father. I puzzled over what he had said for a moment.

"How... what makes you say that?" I stuttered out, surprised.

"You know, you take after your mother Charlotte, and the first time I ever saw her looking like that, was on our first date." He had read me like a book. I regained my composure and decided that my father had given me my opportunity to speak my mind.

"Well, uh, I don't know if he loves me back." I explained, blushing slightly.

"Ah, Charlotte, everyone who has _ever_ been in love, has wondered the same thing." He told me. My father actually sounded like he was taking me seriously. I had expected him to dismiss my feelings as puppy-love, but he offered to me his advice as though I were an adult.

"Let me tell you, that the only way to know is to ask him, or hear him confess his feelings to you directly." Somehow, I doubted that Alexander's shy, timid nature would allow him to express love for anyone at all.

After a pause, my father left me to think over what he had said. I had to ask him, and asking him meant making my love for him obvious.

What if he just got shy and never spoke to me again? Or worse, what if he said no?

Presently, breakfast was placed before me by my mother. I ate it as quickly as I could manage, and left for school.

I spotted Alexander on my way to school, and ran to catch up to him.

"Hi, Alexander." I panted.

"Hi." He didn't use my name. Could he have forgotten it? He hadn't really called me by my name much at all since we had met.

"How are you going today?" I smiled at him.

"I'm okay." He replied, relatively cheerfully, "How about you?"

"I'm good." I said simply. He smiled to me for a while. We arrived at school, shortly, and we made our way to our lockers. I then walked to our first class, and sat down to the right of Alexander once more.

I glanced to my left every few minutes to see how he was. I didn't think much about the subject which I was meant to be learning. I decided to put off telling him outright how I felt about him for the time being. I would try to get him to tell me by himself, by hinting at my love for him, without definitively announcing it.

I was thankful when the lunch bell rang, as I could finally talk to Alexander properly.

We sat side by side at one of the tables outside. After a minute of eating in silence, I decided to speak.

"So-" We both started at the same time. I giggled.

"What were you going to say?" He asked me.

"Oh, it wasn't important." I replied, "What were you going to say?"

"Um, well, I was just wondering," He paused, "if you'd like to, um, go somewhere, else to eat lunch." He finished his sentence quickly. I was moderately disappointed.

"Uh, If you really want to move..." I trailed off.

"No, it doesn't matter." He looked down at his food despondently. We sat in silence for a time.

"Well if it isn't the nerd and his bodyguard again." I heard a familiar voice, snickering behind us.

"Why don't you just leave us alone?" I snapped at Patrick.

"Oh, feisty as always." Patrick's friends all laughed at his terrible sense of humor.

"You need to get a life." I yelled at him aggressively, "I know some cats who might be willing to sell you one."

"I have more of a life than either of you." He gestured toward us. I had had just about enough of his interruptions. I was trying to find out if Alexander had any feelings for me, and Patrick kept getting in the way. I was extremely frustrated.

"Ugh, let's go somewhere else to eat." I proposed quietly to Alexander. We stood up and walked to our usual escape area. He sighed.

"I can't stand people like him." He said forlornly, "Why don't they just leave us alone?"

"They probably envy your intelligence." I suggested, but the look on his face told me that he found it difficult to believe.

We finished our lunch without speaking. Patrick had completely destroyed my good mood, and Alexander's. The rest of the day passed away slowly. I got home and said little. After eating dinner, I went to my room and actually went straight to bed. I didn't even feel like writing in my diary.

I had hoped to tell Alexander how I felt, but I only disappointed myself. At least I could always look forward to tomorrow.

* * *

**Please review my story and tell me what you like and dislike about it. I'm also open to any and all criticism, as it helps me to write more compelling and interesting stories.**

**I hope to hear your thoughts. It means a lot more than you think to see those reviews in my E-mail.  
**

**Thank you for sticking with my story, I know there are a lot of original characters, but It was inherent of the time in which my story is set, as I said before.  
**

**Thanks again.  
**

**Unhello.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

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**Alright, time for another chapter.**** I love weekends. Anyway, h**ere it is, I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

It was a new day, and with it came another opportunity to express my love to Alexander. I had to tell him at school that day, I couldn't hold it in much longer.

I ate a small breakfast and left for school early. I looked around for Alexander, and located him, not far off. He was easy enough to spot, being quite tall and walking at a distance from the other students who were walking to school. I approached him, and matched his speed.

"Hi." I greeted him with a broad smile.

"Hey." He replied, but he wasn't smiling; He looked quite sad.

"So how are you today?" I asked.

"I'm okay." He stated simply. I wanted to cheer him up, but how? I hoped that telling him how I felt about him would make him happy, but I couldn't just say it now. 'Oh, by the way, I've been meaning to tell you that I'm in love with you.' Somehow it didn't seem like the right 'when, where or how'.

We arrived at school as usual, and went to our separate lockers. It was then that I saw Sarah, standing at her own locker, to my left.

"Hi, Sarah." I walked to her. I hoped that she at least wouldn't be angry at me. I still wanted to make up with Ebony, and Sarah would be the only person who would speak to both of us.

"Hello, Charlotte." She said, and looked up from the book with which she was fiddling, "Check that out." She gestured behind me. I looked around, only to find Ebony, practically giving Patrick a tonsillectomy with her mouth.

"Ugh, what does she see in that pig?" I grunted with disgust.

"I honestly don't know." Sarah replied, candidly.

"Ooh, I hate that Patrick." My eyes narrowed until they were like spears, aimed at his heart. Although I had decided not to actually try to harm him physically, I loathed him for everything he was, and I didn't care who knew it.

"Why?" Sarah asked, sincerely confused.

"Did you see what he did to Alexander?" I asked rhetorically.

"Don't tell me _you're_ in love with _Alexander_ now." She said, jokingly. I blushed slightly._  
_

"I don't see why that would be so funny." I said defensively. She became more serious.

"You _are,_ aren't you?" Sarah asked, solemnly.

"Maybe." I looked away, "We should get to homeroom." We walked to the classroom together. I looked back at Ebony, still exchanging salivary fluid with Patrick.

I sat down with Alexander once more. I sensed Sarah looking at me, but I didn't really care. In one conversation, Sarah had figured out the truth, and Alexander still hadn't understood any of my hints. I felt uncomfortable asking _him_ out, as it seemed like it might injure what little confidence he had left, if I plucked up the courage to ask him out before he asked me, and somehow it didn't seem right.

Mrs. Eyre presently began to mark the roll. I waited for my name to be called. Alexander's name was only two places before my own.

"Charlotte?" She eventually called. I replied with a simple 'present'.

"You all know where you each have to go now?" Mrs. Eyre inquired after she had finished, "Good." The class noisily moved to the first class.

The morning classes passed quickly, but I was preoccupied with Alexander. How could I let him know how I felt, without blatantly saying the words? I wanted him to ask me on a date, more than anything, as this would definitely prove that he reciprocated my feelings, but only if he asked me of his own accord. If I told him how I felt, he could feel pressured into telling me that he loved me, or worse; he might get scared off. I got the feeling that before now, no girl had ever been in love with him.

Morning recess arrived, and we exited the classroom. I sat with Alexander for some time, thinking of what to say.

"Charlotte," he began after a lengthy silence, "Would you like to... um..." He trailed off. At least he hadn't forgotten my name.

"Yes?" I felt a glimmer of hope.

"Uh, never mind." He looked down at the table at which we were seated. He was so close to telling me something. I had to know what he was holding back.

"What were you going to say?" I tried to sound only mildly interested, and failed.

"Nothing." He sighed. He wasn't being easy.

"Tell me." I said, "You can tell me anything." I probably sounded a bit too eager, but it would likely be for the best anyway.

Alexander started to blush. "Well, I was just wondering if you might, possibly... maybe... just..."

"Yes?" I smiled.

"Uh, maybe we could, um, get together after school some time?" He looked up at me expectantly. I didn't need much time to think.

"I'd love to." I replied. He smiled with relief, letting out a breath which he had evidently been holding. My pulse increased as the realization came over me. I had thought him to be much too shy to actually ask me. My heart warmed. He _did_ like me back.

I was so overcome with glee, that I almost forgot to actually arrange the time and place for our encounter.

"So, maybe I can go to your house?" He proposed. I supposed it was the logical thing to do. My parents would undoubtedly want to assess my new acquaintance, before they would let me actually be alone with him.

"How about tomorrow, straight after school?" I expected he would want to tell his own parents about me, and warn them that he wouldn't be home.

"Great!" He smiled in disbelief. I was just happy that he had actually asked me out, even if it was only to my house.

I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. My world had turned into a big, warm, fuzzy ball. I even found it hard to be angry at Patrick, though it didn't mean I had forgiven him. I just wanted tomorrow to come quicker.

At lunch, Alexander and I sat down at our usual table, which had basically become our own of late.

"I can't wait for tomorrow." I said, beaming. Alexander smiled back at me, pushing his glasses closer to his bright blue eyes.

"So what's your house like?" He asked. He seemed more confident, slightly less shy.

"It's big." I said, showing him an inaccurate measurement with my hands, "It might take you a while to get used to the layout."

"How about your's?" I asked, curiously.

"Mine's pretty small." He replied, "There's not really much to it. We just have a kitchen, living room and two bedrooms." We said nothing for some time.

"Do you have any siblings?" I finally asked.

"Yes." He answered, "Though you won't see him. My big brother is much older than me. He's already married."

"Really?" I said, surprised, "How old is he?"

"Robert's twenty-one." He explained, "He moved out when they got engaged."

We were silent for a time, I just looked into his eyes. It was strange, but there was still a small shred of doubt in my mind. He had asked me if we could get together after school, and his reactions had supported the theory of his returning my love, but he hadn't actually said the words. Then again, there was probably little hope of hearing those special words from him any time soon.

We sat, contentedly eating our lunch until the bell sounded for us to return to class.

I walked home after school, contemplating my day. My arm was sore from being pinched; I was almost worried that the whole thing had been a dream. It had certainly felt like a dream come true.

I entered my house, and greeted my mother with a hug.

"Hey, Mom." I greeted, grinning widely.

"Hello, Charlotte." She returned my hug, "What's gotten you so happy, I wonder?" She moved back, to look at my face.

"He asked me out!" I exclaimed excitedly. She smiled, understandingly, but her expression was quickly replaced with one of worry.

"Who asked you out, and what did you say?" She asked, gently but sternly.

"Alexander asked me if he could come over here tomorrow." I explained.

"And..." Her hand made a circular motion.

"I said 'yes', of course."

"Well, I suppose it's alright if he's coming here." She said, smiling and stroking back my hair.

I sat contentedly on the sofa, imagining the things we could do. I wondered if he played any musical instruments. I would have to ask him.

* * *

I wrote another passage in my diary that night.

_Alexander actually asked me out, or at least to get together after school. Still, I love him more than anyone, and it's the closest thing to a date on which I've ever been._

_He'll come over tomorrow, and I can't wait to spend some time alone with him, and to introduce him to my parents. Hopefully, next time, we can go to a movie, or something more like a proper date._

_Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to it._

_I love him with all my heart._

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**Please tell me what you think of this chapter, by reviewing it. I read every one that gets posted, and it means so much to me that people are reading my story.**

**I hope you enjoyed the fluffier-than-usual chapter. We're getting to the cute romantic, succulent part! :D**

**Thank you very much for reading my story.**

**I feel like some popcorn.**

**Maybe you can review if you feel like popcorn too! :)**

**Anyway, as always (recently, anyway), Unhello.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

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**I was greeted with an interesting review today, and soon noticed about six other stories, all saying the same thing. I deleted the review, because it was spam, and I have to say that none of the stories actually point to a place in which fanfiction has actually stated that they will be _deleting_ any stories. The closest thing I've found is a message on the homepage, reminding users of their rating policy.**

**Even if they do delete stories that contain graphic content, they will probably only delete stories that should be MA rated, not M.**

**Anyway, here is the next chapter.**

* * *

I awoke to the sound of the birds chattering outside my bedroom window. It was six in the morning. I slowly sat up and got out of bed.

I wanted the afternoon to come faster, but without any way of forcing time forward more quickly, I settled for breakfast.

"Good morning Charlotte." My father greeted me as I walked into the kitchen, "How are you this morning?"

"I'm good." I replied, smiling.

"Your mother tells me we're going to have a visitor this afternoon." He told me, and started making my morning meal.

"Uh-huh." I gleefully confirmed, "Alexander's going to be coming here after school."

"Alright, Charlotte, here's your breakfast." My father said and placed a bowl of cereal on the table. I gulped it down quickly.

"Bye, Mom, Dad." I said as I walked to the door, "See you after school."

I walked briskly up the path, looking around for Alexander. I saw him, walking alone toward the school.

"Hi, Alexander." I caught up to him.

"Hi, Charlotte." He turned his head to look at me, and pushed up his spectacles. "My parents agreed to let me go to your house after school." He said, beaming at me.

"Great!" I exclaimed, excitedly, "I can't wait." He seemed less shy somehow, he didn't stutter out his words at all.

We walked to class together, and sat down in two adjacent seats. My thoughts were occupied by the coming afternoon. I was trying to think of things that we could do together. I would doubtlessly first need to introduce him to my parents. Then, when they were satisfied that Alexander was no threat to me, we could play a game of some sort. I had wanted to know whether or not he played an instrument.

At lunch, I asked him.

"Hey Alexander, do you play any musical instruments?" I inquired, as I bit into my sandwich.

"I learned how to play the clarinet." He replied, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, my parents have just about any musical instrument you can think of." I explained, "I was wondering if you can play anything. I play the piano."

"Maybe we can play a song together." He proposed.

We sat looking at each other for a time. He could be the boy whom I had dreamed for so long would make my life worth living. He had certainly brightened my life since the first time we had conversed.

Our thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey nerd boy." Patrick approached him, "Still got your little girlfriend protecting you?" I blushed slightly at hearing the words. Alexander turned bright red, both out of embarrassment and fear. I didn't want to bruise his ego further by intervening again, but it was hard.

Patrick pulled Alexander out of his seat by his shirt.

"Hey!" I yelled at him, "You just can't stop thinking about us, can you? Why can't you leave us alone?"

"Because I don't want to." He replied.

"Why not go find your new girlfriend?" I exclaimed, "You like being with her more than you like being with us, don't you?" He let go of Alexander, grunted and looked around before walking away.

"Thanks, Charlotte." He looked down at the ground. I hated to see him so forlorn, so ashamed. I was ready to do almost anything to see his smile return.

"You need to tell the principle about Patrick." I said seriously, "Otherwise, he'll never leave us alone."

"It would only make things worse." His voice was filled with sorrow. "He would take revenge on me, and I don't stand a chance in a fight with him."

"You saw how he treated you just now." I said, slightly frustrated. "He will probably beat you up anyway. At least if you tell someone, he might get suspended."

"It won't work." He mumbled quietly. I felt sorry for him. Why did people have to be so mean sometimes?

We remained silent for the rest of lunch. I was determined not to allow the incident to affect our time together. I had been looking forward to having him over since the day before.

The impact of Patrick's entrance faded away slowly as the day went by, until it was but a memory upon which to frown.

I waited patiently for the school bell to ring, and sure enough, it soon signaled the end of another day. We smiled to each other as we made our way out of the school.

"Alright, Alexander." I said as we reached the point at which we usually parted ways, "Follow me."

I lead him down the same path upon which I walked each day, and had done for as long as I had lived at our destination.

We entered the gate that lead to my home. The door was unlocked, my parents both being home this day of the week. I opened it and gestured for him to enter.

"Ladies first." He moved to one side. I didn't argue with him.

"Hi, Mom." I greeted my mother, who had walked in upon hearing the sound of the door opening.

"Hello, Charlotte." She replied, "You must be Alexander. Please, come in." She lead us into the living room, where my father sat, reading the news on his tablet computer.

"Hey, Dad." I drew his attention to our guest. He smiled and put the tablet on a table.

"Hello, you two. Alexander?" He adjusted his glasses.

"Hello, uh, good afternoon, Mr... um..." He started blushing.

"Dr. Simon Seville, but you can just call me Simon." He extended a hand, whereat Alexander stared for a few seconds, before realizing my father's intention, and quickly reaching out and shaking it. He had become a blushing nervous wreck.

"I'm Jeanette." My mother interjected.

"Um, good morn- afternoon... Mr. and Mrs. Seville." I looked away, slightly embarrassed at his total lack of self-confidence or eloquence.

My father seemed to understand how Alexander felt.

"Are you hungry at all, Alexander?" My mother asked in a friendly tone. "How about some sandwiches?"

"Um, no thank you." Alexander became silent. I waited anxiously, hoping that my parents would approve of him.

"Well, Charlotte can show you around the house." My father obviously saw that Alexander would be more comfortable without everyone crowding and interrogating him.

"Come on," I lead him to the staircase, "I'll show you my room." As I said the words, I suddenly became slightly self-conscious. In my rush to see him, I had forgotten to hide anything that I didn't want Alexander to see. I tried hard to think of anything that I should have hidden. My diary was still opened on the screen of my computer, but it was asleep. I definitely didn't want Alexander to read my that, especially not my last entry, which happened to have been open. As long as we didn't turn my computer on, it would be alright.

We walked up the stairs, and I turned to face the door of my room. I opened it, and walked inside.

"Here's my bedroom." I said, "I've got a few old _printed_ books, and my computer."

"It's nice, and... purple." He said, looking around at my walls and ceiling.

"Don't you like purple?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"No, no. It's good." He replied.

"I also have my keyboard over there." I pointed out my musical instrument in the corner of my room. "Maybe we can play something together. My dad has a clarinet in one of our storage rooms."

"Okay." He said, expectantly. We both walked out of my room. I was slightly relieved that he didn't go anywhere near my computer.

I lead him back down the stairs, and into one of the rooms that had been dedicated to storage.

"Wow." Alexander said in awe of the spectacle before him, "You've got a _lot_ of stuff." I smiled, it was true. My parents never parted with anything. Instead of throwing away old and useless things, they built new rooms to contain the various trinkets and keepsakes which they had collected over the years.

"Yep, we do." We both laughed at the sheer amount of objects stored in the room.

"Help me find the clarinet." I requested, and he proceeded to rummage through the various items, though more carefully than I did.

Eventually, we found it, and Alexander cleaned and dusted it. We went back to my room, in order to play something.

"So what songs do you know?" I asked him, hoping that he would know one that I played on the piano.

"A few. I know _'The Scientist'_, for one." He told me. It was a good song for us, since there was a distinct lead and a large piano role.

We played the song all the way through. By the end, Alexander was breathless.

"You were great." I complimented him, "You never said you could play it so well."

"I wasn't that good." I replied modestly, "You didn't make one mistake!" I smiled and blushed.

"So what do you do on your computer?" Alexander asked after he had caught his breath.

"Not very much." I said quickly. He looked slightly confused.

"Then keeping it on sleep is a waste of electricity." He stated, not impolitely, but out of concern.

My heart started to beat faster. I couldn't turn it off, without my diary being shown first. If I pulled out the plug, it would look suspicious. If I left it alone, he would probably get the wrong impression. What to do?

I decided to turn it on and close the diary as soon as it appeared, in the hope that Alexander wouldn't read it.

I did so, and the window closed after a few seconds. I looked at Alexander to assess his reaction. Perhaps he hadn't seen it at all.

Unfortunately, I noticed his eyebrows were raised. His face was filled with surprise. I could tell that he had seen at least part of the entry.

His mouth slowly turned up at the corners. A broad smile spread itself across his face. At this point, I was glad enough that he was smiling, that I regretted his seeing my diary less. Nonetheless, my face turned bright red.

"I should tell you that I have an eidetic memory." Alexander explained, "I only take a second or two to commit things to memory."

"So you read the whole thing?" I asked in disbelief. He nodded sheepishly. The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that it was for the best. Reading that _'I love him with all my heart'_ would be less frightening than hearing me say it, and I probably wouldn't have said it directly to him otherwise, anyway.

"Did you... really mean what you wrote?" He said, almost dumbfounded.

There was no sense in denying that I felt the emotions recorded in my diary. I just hated myself for turning on my computer in the first place.

"Of course I do." I became defensive, "Why would I write something I didn't mean in my diary?"

"Well, um... I do too." He said quietly, smiling to me. My heart skipped a beat. Had he just said what I thought he had said?

"You mean that?" I asked, although I knew what his answer would probably be. I just wanted to hear him say it.

"Yes, I do." He replied, "I uh, like you a lot, and maybe... a bit more." He started blushing.

"A bit more?" I wanted to hear three magic words.

"Yeah." It was as close as it would get.

Our eyes met. We stared into each other for a long time. I wanted to fall into his arms, and have him fly me away to faraway places, but knowing his fitness related limitations, I remained on my own two feet.

* * *

**I'm separating this part into two chapters, just because there was so much to tell.**

**I hope you enjoyed my longest ever chapter. I enjoyed writing it a lot, and I hope it was believable enough. I'm still only new at writing anything, so please review the story and tell me what you like about it, and also what you dislike about it. Although nice and kind reviews put a smile on my face, and encourage me to write, critical reviews help me to improve, and I never take any criticism to heart.**

**Anyway, thank you so much for reading this far into my story.**

**Unhello.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

**SURPRISE! The next chapter! This one has been giving me a bit of trouble, I couldn't upload it for some reason, and then I was sick for a number of days. Finally I had to catch up on a bunch of work for three weeks. Oh well, anyway, here it is. I hope the small number of reviews is a direct result of my splitting this part into two chapters, and not an indicator that I've become boring.**

* * *

Alexander was looking famished by the time we had fully regained our composure.

"I'm hungry." I announced, slightly dishonestly. "I'm going to get something to eat. How about you?"

"Uh, okay." He responded after a pause. I took him to our pantry.

Eventually, we decided to open a packet of chips. I ended up eating most of them, as Alexander didn't eat much food in general.

I continued to show Alexander the rest of my house. We walked to the living room after exploring the objects in storage. Eventually we started up a game on the Xbox. It was enjoyable, but he beat me almost every time. Alexander may not have been a great beast in real life, but in all of my games, he was easily able to either crush my resistance or outperform me, depending on whether we were playing against each other or on a team.

It wasn't long before the sun had disappeared completely. I wanted him to stay longer, but of course that would be rude toward his parents. He was expected back at his own home in just a few minutes.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." I said, standing in the doorway before him.

"Right." He replied. My parents waved to him from further inside the house. I weighed up the best thing to say or do for a few seconds, before pulling him into a hug. He stood paralyzed for a few moments but soon hugged me back. I didn't want to rush anything, for fear of scaring him off, but since he knew how I felt about him, I supposed it wouldn't be too much.

"Bye." I let go of Alexander. He dazedly said 'goodbye' and walked down the path to our gate. Soon he was out of sight. I wandered dreamily back inside. I wished he could have remained longer, but there would be another time for that.

"Alexander seems like a nice enough boy." My mother told me as I sat down on the sofa.

I looked over to my father, who wiped his glasses before agreeing. I was glad that they liked him; I wasn't sure what I'd do if they didn't.

I had a great deal to write in my diary that night. It read:

_Today, Alexander came to our house for the afternoon. He was really nice, and Mom and Dad seem to like him._

_He accidentally read the last entry in my diary. It was really embarrassing for a while, but then he told me he liked me too! The rest of the day was lots of fun._

_I can't wait to see him tomorrow._

* * *

The next morning, which was friday, I was ready for school earlier than ever. The sun was just over the horizon when I awoke, and it was still too early to go to school.

I decided to watch the sun slowly traverse its invisible ladder. My mind was continually drawn back to the happenings of the day before. He had actually said that he liked me, a lot. It was painful to wait for the sun to crawl up the sky. At eight o'clock, I walked back to the kitchen to say goodbye to my parents.

"Goodbye Charlotte." My father waved to me.

"See you this afternoon, deary." My mother smiled. I walked out through the door and looked around for Alexander, but I was too early to meet him on my way to school.

The school grounds were mostly empty when I arrived. Hardly anyone was there yet. I strolled to my locker to get my books. Eventually the school bell rang, and I made my way to my homeroom. Alexander had presently sat down in his usual seat. The one next to him was empty, so I sat down in it.

"Hi Alexander." I said.

"Hey, Charlotte." He smiled widely, which made me smile as well.

"How are you?" I inquired.

"I'm great." He replied enthusiastically, "How about you?"

"Me too." I answered him.

"Okay, good morning everyone." Miss Eyre tapped on the interactive board to get our attention, "Let's mark the roll." After we finished the roll, Alexander and I went to our history class.

At morning recess, we both sat at our usual table and ate.

"I've got an appointment with the dentist at lunch." Alexander broke the silence which had fallen over the two of us.

"Really?" I looked up, "So you won't be here?"

"My dad is picking me up at the start of lunch." He nodded. "There will be no point in coming back afterward." I was slightly disappointed.

"Well, I hope you don't have to do anything painful." I said

"As do I." He agreed.

I was hoping that I could coax another 'date' out of him at lunch, perhaps something more romantic, or at least away from people who knew us. After some thought, I decided that I would try to get him to ask me out again before he left.

"So did you like my house?" I asked him. I didn't want to blatantly ask him out myself. It just didn't feel right for me.

"Sure, its really big." He replied.

"So you enjoyed the visit?" I did want to be absolutely certain that he really did want to continue with our relationship.

"Absolutely." He smiled, "I had a great time. Didn't you?"

"Of course." I responded, "I just wanted to know that you did."

We sat in silence for the remaining minutes of our break. The bell rang once more and I walked to class with Alexander. I wanted to grasp his hand, but I didn't have the courage.

At lunchtime, we both trudged out of the classroom in which we had been working.

"See you next week." I said as we reached the gate.

"Bye, Charlotte." He replied and began to walk away. I had one last chance to arrange a second get-together before the weekend.

"Wait." I called to him, "Um, I was thinking that, maybe we could do something together again?" I started to blush.

"I'd love to." He grinned, "What about tomorrow, or Sunday?" I smiled back.

"Saturday would be better." I explained, "So what would you like to do?"

"What about a movie?" He suggested. A little bit unoriginal, but it could be fun.

"Okay. I'll meet you at the theater. When would be a good time?" I asked.

"After lunch some time, maybe two thirty?"

"I can't wait." I smiled. We parted after a slightly awkward silence.

Although I hated to admit it, save Alexander, I had no real social life anymore. I had nothing to do for the rest of my lunch break. I looked around for Sarah.

My eyes fell on Patrick, who had been leaving Alexander and I alone lately; he was otherwise occupied. In his arms was Ebony, but she was no longer the girl whom I had known. Ebony had been slowly changing, presumably because Patrick wanted her to.

I hadn't spoken, or even met with her for a long time. There was no doubt about it; she had become someone else, a rude, lustful, rebellious girl.

I continued to look for Sarah, the only girl with whom I was on friendly terms. She was sitting at a table with some other students, who vaguely disliked me. I didn't want to join them, since they would probably just tease me.

Instead I spent a lonely hour, sitting by myself at a table which had previously been speckled with the excrement of birds, and never cleaned. I half expected a dark cloud to materialize above my head and rain on me. It was a depressing afternoon. I needed to remind myself that I would be with Alexander in just one day. Even so, It was still lonely.

* * *

Finally, I arrived at home after a long day. I couldn't wait to tell my parents about our date. I only hoped that they would trust Alexander enough to let me go with him.

"Hello, Mom." I greeted her as I walked in.

"Hello, Charlotte, how was your day?" She asked.

"It was alright." I replied, "Alexander and I arranged to go to a movie tomorrow, after lunch." My mother didn't seem very enthusiastic about it.

"I don't know, Charlotte." My mother sighed, "You don't really know him that well yet."

"Yes I do!" I said, annoyed, "He came here first, and you met him. You said he seemed nice."

"Yes, but Charlotte, I don't want you going places alone." She told me.

"I won't be alone, Alexander will be there with me." I said, crossly. Why couldn't she have just said 'How wonderful, that's great. Have fun.'?

"What I mean is that I don't want you going on a date alone with a boy we hardly know." She didn't seem to be budging from her decision.

"I have to show up, though, he'll be waiting for me." I tried to explain the situation.

"I'm sorry, Charlotte, but if something were to happen to you, I'd die inside."

"Urgh!" I shouted and stormed away into my room. I slammed and locked the door. I couldn't tell him why I wouldn't be there, as I hadn't gotten his phone number. He would arrive at the movie theater and find no one there. He would think I had stood him up! I felt a tear flow down the side of my face.

I fell onto my bed and sobbed into my pillow for a while. He would be so disappointed, and I couldn't do a thing about it. My only hope was that my father would somehow agree to let me go, but deep down I knew he would feel the same way as my mother. I felt completely powerless. My day had turned into a _nightmare_.

* * *

**Well, It's taken a long time to get this written and uploaded, but it's here, and I can't wait to hear what you think.**

**Please review this story, it really helps me to get motivated, and sometimes to improve my writing.**

**I know it's been over a month since I last updated the story, so I'd like to know if you think I should continue writing this story.**

**Finally, what do you think of the plot so far? Is it interesting at all, or is there no real reason to keep going? I honestly don't know, so I need the crowd's opinion.**

**Thank you for sticking with it this far, and I look forward to reading what you have to say.**

**By the way, you might be seeing Alvin and Brittany soon as well, so if you were looking forward to that, they should be appearing in my story soon.**

**I wrote the next chapter,  
****It's quite unmellow,  
You've read to the end,  
So I'll say Unhello.**

**Yes, I know that was a terrible poem. :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

**Greetings, readers. I've been absolutely inundated with work recently, but I finally finished working on a certain project, which was taking up most of my time.**

**The good thing is that I'll be using the money to get a nice new PC, and the time to write more chapters for my stories.**

**Anyway, I'm in a great mood, so I'll get right to the chapter.**

* * *

I heard a soft knock on my door.

"Charlotte?" My mother spoke through the door. I covered my ears with my pillow.

She knocked again, louder.

"Charlotte, please don't be angry at me." She said, "I'm just trying to do what's best for you."

"Then let me go with him!" I exclaimed.

"I can't let you do that, Charlotte." She reiterated, "If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."

"I don't understand why you don't trust Alexander." I asserted, "He would never do anything to hurt me. He probably couldn't, even if he tried."

"Charlotte, I don't want to argue with you." My mother said in a comforting voice. "I just want you to know that I love you more than anything else in the world, and that that is why I'm doing this."

I had thought that she would be happy to hear about my first proper date. I had been sorrowfully wrong.

A vehicle presently parked in our driveway. It was my father's car, a black Rolls-Royce. I felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps he would be more reasonable.

I unlocked my door and slid down the stairs, to greet my father. He was opening the front door to come in as I reached the entrance to our house.

"Hi, Daddy." I said, smiling. "How was your day?" He eyed me carefully; I didn't usually greet him like this.

"My day was fine." He looked at me for a few seconds, "Are you about to ask me for something? You know I'll do whatever I can to get it for you." He walked into the kitchen and placed his keys on the hook above the fridge. I followed him.

"Nope, I'm just happy." I lied. He raised an eyebrow, "Alexander and I arranged a date for tomorrow. He's taking me to the movies after lunch."

"Really?" My father smiled, "Good for you, Charlotte." My glimmer of hope was slowly expanding.

"Simon, if you wouldn't mind, could we have a word." My mother was standing at the kitchen door.

My parents withdrew to beyond my range of hearing. A feeling of dread swept over me. What if she convinced him not to let me go?

"Charlotte, dear," My mother began.

"The matter is," My father interjected.

"We haven't gotten to know Alexander well enough to let you go to a cinema all alone with him." My mother finished

"Unless, you're prepared to have me wait at the door to the cinema while you watch your movie."

"No!" I exclaimed, "That would be terrible. It would never be a date with you watching over our backs."

"You aren't planning on doing anything with which we would disagree, are you?" I crossed my arms. My mother didn't understand at all.

"Of course she isn't, Jean." My father looked toward her, "I can see why she doesn't like the idea. How would we have felt if our parents had been watching over us on our first dates."

"That was different." My mother looked up at my father, "We were much older, and had known each other for years." This argument was not going in my favor.

"Charlotte, we try to give you as much freedom as we can, with what you do in your spare time, the way you dress, the things you want to buy; but we can't let you go off alone with some boy to a cinema." My mother explained, "There are people out there who take advantage of girls like you."

"But Alexander isn't one of them." I raised my voice.

"We don't know that for sure, and when it comes to you, we can't afford to take a risk like that." My father replied.

"Grr!" I growled loudly at them and left the kitchen, "Why can't they just say 'yes'?" I muttered under my breath.

I returned to my room, and dived onto my bed, burying my face once more into my my tear-stained pillow. It wasn't fair, Alexander was the kindest and least aggressive boy I knew. Why didn't they trust him?

I had to get to him somehow. If I didn't tell him that I couldn't come, he would believe I had taken advantage of _him_, and probably never forgive me. I could lock myself in my room and sneak out of the house, unbeknownst to my parents. Then I could tell Alexander why I couldn't fulfill our date arrangement.

I had to. There was no other way.

I sat in silence, alone in my room for an hour, before my dinner was ready. My mother brought my food to me, to eat in my bedroom; something which was normally refused me.

After I had finished my meal, I put my plate on my desk. I looked at my computer, but I wasn't in the mood to write in my diary. I wasn't in the mood to do anything, but wallow in my misery. So that I did. How unfair the world had become. How unjust, not to mention lonely. I needed to talk to Alexander or I would never forgive myself for letting him be stood up.

* * *

I fell asleep at some point. I knew not when, but when I awoke, the sun was streaming through my bedroom window. It was a warm and cloudless day, which only served to remind me of my own misfortunes.

I rose from my bed, and realized that I had fallen unconscious in the clothes I wore to school the previous day. I took a shower immediately, as I certainly didn't want to look or smell bad when I found Alexander.

Waiting for the time to pass was a real drag. I had to remain locked in my room for the rest of the day, to make sure that my parents didn't suspect my leaving.

Time slowly passed, and eventually, my clock read '13:30'. I had to eat lunch, and then make my escape, without being caught. It would take some precision, and a bit of blind luck, but I could do it if I tried.

"Charlotte, I've got your lunch here." My mother's sympathetic voice drifted through the door. I walked to the door and wordlessly took the plate from her hands. Locking the door behind me, I ate my lunch as quickly as I could, and placed the plate upon the one from the previous night.

I looked at my window. I could get out of the house through it, and climb down the wall. I opened it and felt a light breeze caress my face. With it came a sudden wave of guilt. What was I thinking? I was about to completely disobey an explicit ground rule, set down by my parents. I closed the window and sat down on my bed.

I couldn't just betray their trust, or they would never allow me to do anything again, but I had to tell Alexander before the movie started. My conscience was being torn apart, and my mind was breaking asunder.

I needed to tell him, but I couldn't do it. I was caught in my own respect for my parents' wishes. Why had they made it so hard?

The clock continued to tick, my indecision was keeping me in my place, and I only had a few more minutes before it would become completely outrageous to believe he would wait.

In a sudden impulsive shove, I opened my window and looked out of it. I began to step out, before climbing back into my room, and shutting the window.

"Arrgh!" I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I looked hopelessly up at the clock, which now read '15:00'. I covered my face and cried into my hands. I was boxed in; either way, I disappointed someone I loved.

I felt like my world was shrinking around me, and that soon my tears would fill up the universe and drown me in my despair, but they didn't, and I just sat, powerless to do anything.

How was I going to explain what had happened to Alexander on Monday? What could I possibly do to remedy the situation? My mind drew blank.

I lay on my bed and tried to dream about the way my weekend should have been. Soon enough, I had once more fallen asleep.

* * *

**Well there you have it: Chapter 11. It took me quite a while to write, since the theme of this chapter clashed with my happy mood today.**

**Anyway, I'm relatively pleased with the way it turned out, but I need to know what YOU think, so if you would like to help me a lot, just review this story, and help prolong my recent bliss.**

**Thanks again for reading my story so far, and I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Unhello.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

**Hello again. Sorry about missing last weekend's chapter, but I finally invested in a new PC, and it took me the whole weekend to build it and connect it to my window, lights and sound system. Unfortunately, after disassembling my old computer, I had to finish my new one before I could get on the internet.**

* * *

I awoke to find myself once again in my clothes, and was reminded of the events of the previous day. I washed and returned to my bedroom to sit alone.

I couldn't believe that my parents had been so overprotective of me. Why didn't they realize that I couldn't stand him up?

Someone interrupted my self-pity by knocking on my door.

"Charlotte?" It was my father, "We're worried about you."

I said nothing in reply, just waited for him to continue.

"You barely came out of your room yesterday, and Uncle Alvin and Aunt Brittany are coming here soon." He continued, "Why don't you come out and keep your cousins company?"

I was getting extremely bored by this time; there wasn't much that I could do locked away in my room, save for surfing the internet, and I wasn't in the mood.

"Fine." I said reluctantly. I opened the door, and walked to the living room to wait for them to arrive.

It didn't take long, it was only about five minutes before a knock could be heard at the door.

"Coming." My mother walked to the front door. "Hello, everyone." She greeted my cousins and their parents as they piled in.

I had four cousins on the side of my Uncle Alvin and Aunt Brittany. The oldest was a boy a year younger than me named Daniel, and each of the others was three years younger than the one before.

The smallest, James, was only two years old, and preferred to be in his mother's arms most of the time, but the middle two girls always wanted to play with everything I owned. The only one with whom I could usually connect, was Daniel; Isabella and Lacey just wanted to use my toys.

The girls ran past me, playing a game of some sort. Next came Daniel who was followed by Uncle Alvin, and James with Aunt Brittany.

"Hi, Everybody." My father called from the living room.

"And how are you, Charlotte?" My uncle asked, bending down slightly.

"I'm alright." I said quietly, and looked away. He straightened his back.

"Okay." He said, slightly confused, and walked toward my parents.

My father was setting up the Wii U for Isabella and Lacey. My mother and Aunt Brittany were playing with James. Everyone around me was smiling and having a good time. It was frustrating to watch.

"What's up with you today?" Daniel inquired.

"Nothing that concerns _you_!" I snapped.

"Alright." He held up his hands and backed away. I immediately felt guilty.

"No, I didn't mean that." I sighed, "I've just been having a bad couple of days."

"A miserable couple of days, by the sound of it." He replied.

"Yeah, I suppose." I agreed, "My Mom and Dad didn't let me go to the movies with someone."

"Someone?" He asked, smiling.

"Alright, fine; a boy named Alexander." I explained.

"So it was a date." He said.

"Yes, Daniel, it _would _have been a date." I replied, remembering the day before.

"So did you go?" He asked curiously.

"I just told you." I stated.

"No, you said that your parents didn't let you." He corrected me.

"I guess for you, there is a difference." I half-smiled.

"I don't know what you could possibly mean." He shifted his eyes suspiciously.

"Now I've told you my problems, what have you been doing this week?" I asked him.

"Getting into trouble, mostly." He replied, grinning, "I pulled the funniest prank on one of my friends at school on Friday. I put Mentos on a string and put it in the cap of his coke bottle."

"Ah, I bet he thanked you for it afterward." I rolled my eyes. He laughed.

"It was _epic!_" He exclaimed._  
_

I regretted asking him anything; he just went on talking. I never got the chance to interrupt him, only to nod my head and laugh occasionally. By the end, I was beginning to wonder how many of his stories were imaginary. Humility wasn't necessarily encouraged in his family.

* * *

Lunch was roasted potatoes with carrots and salad, a dish which my mother had learned from Aunt Ellie. I tried my best to finish my portion, but I couldn't quite bring myself to eat it all. I kept seeing Alexander's disappointed face in my mind and thinking of the date I had missed.

My mother was too busy making strange sounds in front of the baby to notice me. Everyone else was happily distracted, laughing, playing. I wanted to lock myself in my room and sulk, but there was no point; I had tried that for two days, and it hadn't helped.

Soon after lunch, Lacey announced that she needed to go home.

"Mummy, what about dancing lessons?" She looked up at Aunt Brittany.

"Oh, right." She looked at her watch, "We wouldn't want to be late."

"The time seems to have escaped us." My mother smiled understandingly.

"Well, I guess we'll see you again next time." My father stood up, and was followed by everyone else. I walked behind the group to the door.

"Bye guys." Uncle Alvin waved to us as they all walked back to their SUV. I returned to the living room, closing the door behind me.

"See, Charlotte?" My father put his hand on my shoulder, "You had a good time with your family, didn't you?"

"I suppose." I sighed, "Though I still think you should have let me go with Alexander."

"Please Charlotte, don't start this again." He said, "We've already been through it."

"I just don't think it's fair, that's all." I stated, and walked to my room.

As I walked to my door, I noticed my school bag. I hadn't even _started _on my homework! There was no way I could finish it all in time, but I had to do some of it.

This weekend had to be the worst one I had ever experienced. First I couldn't go out with Alexander, and now I would get in trouble for not finishing my homework.

The rest of my day was filled with maths and English, history and geography. I tried to finish it, but over the week, my homework had accumulated. Eventually, I simply fell asleep in my chair.

* * *

**So tell me, have you enjoyed the last few chapters, or do you think they're getting boring? I don't know, but I want to hear what you have to say.**

**I do read every review and message I get, and I respond to a fair few of them, so I'd be really thankful to anyone who leaves a review.**

**Anyway, thank you _very _much for getting this far. If you're reading this, I cannot express the magnitude of my gratitude that you actually stuck with it up to now.**

**Please alert me to any grammatical mistakes I made in this chapter, or any other one, since I may have missed a few.**

**Also, as a side note, I'm considering making a cover artwork for this story, but I don't want to put Charlotte herself in the picture, lest I destroy your mind-images of her. If you have an idea for what to put on the cover, you can PM me, at your own leisure of course.**

**As always, Unhello. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

**Hello again. I'm interested to know if any of you even read these author's notes, or if they are just frivolous additions. I personally always read the author's notes on other stories, but I'm a bit ****peculiar, so I don't know if this means other people do too.**

* * *

It was Monday: the first day of school since I had missed my date with Alexander. I was hoping that he would forgive me for standing him up, and understand that I had no choice.

I walked briskly to school, in an attempt to intercept Alexander before he got to school. I looked around me, and saw all of the other students free of all cares or worries, but I didn't see Alexander. Either he was very early, or I had left before he had.

I reached school with ten minutes to spare. I continued to glance from side to side as I walked to my classroom, trying to find him, but to no avail.

I sat down at our usual table. My conscience burned with guilt and sorrow while I watched each student enter the room and sit in their seat.

Alexander arrived after a few minutes. He walked toward his seat, but suddenly stopped. His eyes narrowed for a moment after noticing me, before he turned away and sat on the other side of the room. I winced as my heart clenched. How could I ever expect him to accept my explanation? I wouldn't accept his if the roles were reversed.

I needed to try to explain to him my predicament, at least, but it would have to wait until morning recess. Before then, I would have to deal with two angry teachers who had expected my homework to be finished.

I just wanted to cry, but it would attract too much attention. I had to get a hold on myself. I would focus on my school work until I could speak to Alexander.

This was easier said than done, especially since Alexander was within my field of vision for the entire time. I kept looking at him and seeing the anger and disappointment in his eyes. It was almost too much.

I was lucky in the first period; the teacher didn't really care whether we finished our homework or not, but the second was a different story.

"What's this?" The teacher asked, accusingly.

"My homework." I replied, looking down at the floor.

"You've barely done anything!" He exclaimed, "You'll be staying indoors after this class to finish what you didn't do at home."

I wanted to yell 'I need to talk to Alexander and I can't stay in here after he leaves!', but I knew better. I just sat subdued and humiliated in my seat, waiting for him to assign to me a task.

I practiced linear algebra for what seemed like a yottasecond. By the time I was allowed to leave, I was almost late for the next class. I felt like screaming; I had to endure another hour of this. I only needed a few minutes to explain myself, but I couldn't even get that.

Geography was a bore, and I didn't even see any use for it in the future. Why couldn't time move faster when I wanted it to?

Finally, I heard the bell ring to signify lunch time. I felt like a bird whose wings had been restrained, but who had escaped. The feeling only lasted for a few moments, until I remembered the difficult conversation I was going to have with Alexander.

Alexander walked quickly out of the classroom, and I caught up to him.

"Alexander?" I spoke timidly. He looked away. "Alexander, I'm really sorry about what happened. I didn't want to-"

"But you did." He snapped and turned to me. His eyes displayed his anger, but I could tell he was hurt more deeply.

"Please, just let me explain what happened." I asked, "I really wanted to go with you, but my parents didn't let me."

"I waited for you, for an hour!" He exclaimed in frustration.

"I'm sorry." I looked down at my feet, "I'm really sorry." There was a pause.

"Why couldn't you come?" He asked, "Why didn't your parents let you?"

"I don't know, I guess they just don't trust you, or maybe they don't trust me," I replied, "but if there were any way I could have come, I would have."

Alexander sighed.

"So what do we do now?" He asked. I hadn't honestly thought about this yet. "Do your parents disapprove of me? Because if they do, I'll have to respect that."

"No, I don't think they _disapprove_ of you, they just don't want me going off alone with a boy." I explained, "My parents are just over-protective."

He nodded. I was relieved that he didn't hate me for it. Alexander really was the perfect boy for me; he just understood.

"So, what did you do on the weekend instead?" He inquired. I didn't want to sound like I had no life, but I didn't want to sound like I didn't care about him either.

"Well, my aunt and uncle came over to our house with my cousins." I told him, "I would have preferred to be with you, though." He smiled.

"How about you?" I asked, curiously.

"I mainly did homework." Alexander replied. I chuckled, thinking back to my frantic, last-minute effort to make a half-decent attempt at _my_ homework.

"If only _I_ had had the sense to do that." I smiled. He had forgiven me, and we were back to being comfortably happy together.

"I wish my parents would let me go somewhere with you." I said wistfully, "Then we could... well, go somewhere together." I started to blush. Alexander grinned.

"Maybe I can come to your house again some time." He suggested.

"I suppose." I replied, "You could come over tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay, I'll tell my parents tonight." He decided. I smiled, but my smile was quickly replaced with a surprised expression. I had just witnessed Ebony slapping Patrick across the face. Alexander noticed that I was looking past him, and turned around.

Ebony stormed away. Sarah was standing not far away, and walked toward Ebony. They began to converse loudly, but I couldn't hear what they were saying.

What had Patrick done? I wasn't shocked to know that he had done _something_, but I still wanted to know what._  
_

"Well, I'll see you back at class after lunch, Alexander." I said to him, and ran to catch up to Ebony and Sarah.

"What happened, Ebony?" I asked.

"That _idiot_ was kissing another girl!" She said through clenched teeth.

"Why am I not surprised?" I said under my breath.

"He says it was some _dare_ or something," She continued, "as if that should matter."

"I hate to tell you this, but you were setting yourself up for disappointment." I told her.

"Whatever." She said sourly, looking away. I had warned her, but she hadn't listened.

The bell rang once more, and I made my way to my second last class. The rest of the day was a drag.

* * *

That night, I wrote an entry in my diary.

_Alexander is so nice. He forgave me for standing him up, even though he waited for ages._

_He will be coming over tomorrow, so I had better think of some things we can do._

_I think Ebony is finally seeing Patrick for who he is: an idiotic player and a bully._

* * *

**I hope this chapter was long enough for you. I try to fill each one as much as possible.**

**Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you take the time to review my story so far.**

**Again, I'm interested to know if anyone reads these author's notes, so if you do review, tell me that.**

**As always,**

**Unhello.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

**Hello again, and I'm really sorry for the lack of updates. I know, it's been months, but I really have had a busy life lately. I enjoyed reading your reviews for the last chapter, you people seemed to enjoy it more than the ones before, so read on.  
**

* * *

I had awoken early, and found some board games stashed away in one of our spare rooms. We could play Monopoly or Scrabble, or both. I didn't want to be bothered with school, I just wanted to skip straight to Alexanders visit.

I found him on my way to school, and caught up to him.

"Hi, Alexander." I greeted him.

"Hi, Charlotte." He replied, "I can go to your house this afternoon."

"Great!" I smiled at him. We soon reached school. It would be a long day.

"Hey, nerd-face!" I groaned, knowing what was coming next. Patrick walked toward us.

"What do _you_ want?" I inquired accusingly. He ignored me.

"What you got us for lunch today?" All his friends snickered behind him. Patrick lunged out and grabbed Alexander's backpack. He unzipped it and turned it on its side. Countless papers came rushing out, along with a lunch box and bottle of water.

"Hey!" I yelled, "Stop it!" Patrick just chuckled and continued. I jumped forward and gave him a shove in the back. He was repelled a few steps, and then turned around.

"You're lucky I don't hit girls, or you'd be dead meat." He said, scowling at me. Suddenly, the bell rang for us to go inside, and he left with his friends, but not without a sneering look.

"Alexander, are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah." He frowned in frustration as he picked up his belongings and placed them back in his backpack.

"Here, let me help." I bent down and picked up a few pages.

"Thanks, Charlotte." He stood up and looked around,"Great; now we're late to class."

"I just hate that Patrick." I complained to Alexander. "I wish he would just move to a different school."

"Ah, wouldn't that be nice, a school with no bullies." He said cynically. I sighed and we walked to class.

During the morning recess, I found Sarah. She was eating alone, so I decided I'd keep her company.

"Hey, Sarah." I sat beside her.

"Hi, Charlotte." She ate some of her food.

"So, how's it going?" I asked.

"I'm okay." She replied, simply. There was a pause as I thought of something more to say. I quickly realized that I really didn't know much about my friends at all. I had never visited any of them in their homes, and they usually didn't talk very much about their lives outside of school.

"Do you know where Ebony is?" I queried.

"Nope." She wasn't in a very talkative mood.

"Okay." I walked over to Alexander's table.

"Sarah doesn't look very happy, does she?" I looked over at her. She fiddled with her food.

"No, not really." He replied, after turning to look as well.

"I don't know what's wrong, but she doesn't seem to want to tell me." I explained, "She never really tells me anything about her life."

"Well, I'm not in on the secrets either." He ate the last of his food.

"Alexander, I don't really know much about what you do either." I told him.

"Well, yesterday I wrote an interpreter for 'Ook!'." We walked to the bin and threw away our wrappers.

"Ook. Ook?" I looked at him, puzzled.

"Yes, 'Ook!'. It's an esoteric programming language." He explained.

"I see." I hesitated to ask him, not wanting to sound ignorant, but decided he probably didn't expect me to know what it was. "So what's an esoteric programming language?"

"A language that wasn't designed to be useful, and in this case, usable." He defined. I nodded. Presently, we were interrupted by the bell ringing.

* * *

In my lunch break, I noticed Ebony walking somewhere, so I joined her.

"Hi, Ebony." I caught up to her.

"Hi." She said, "How are you?"

"I'm good." I said, "So what's going on between Patrick-"

"Ssh!" She turned abruptly and hushed me, "Nothing, don't even say his name."

"Okay." I said quietly. I watched her as she continued walking, before turning and walking back to my table. Neither of my friends seemed to want me around; only Alexander stayed with me.

I didn't really want to worry myself about the reason for this. I just wanted school to be over, so that Alexander could come to my house.

It wasn't long before it was.

"Hello, Alexander." My mother greeted him warmly, as we walked into the living room.

"He-Hello, Mrs. Seville." Alexander half-waved awkwardly to her.

"Please, just call me Jeanette." She smiled to him, "So, Alexander, what do you like doing after school?" I looked at him.

"Well, um, I program." He wiped his glasses.

"On the computer?" My father had presently entered the room.

"Yeah." Alexander affirmed succinctly. There was a pause.

"Well, why don't you two go to Charlotte's room, and we'll make dinner for you, okay?" My father suggested. We nodded and walked upstairs.

"Alexander?" I said after we had gotten to my room.

"Yes?" He acknowledged.

"I... I feel like I don't know much about you." I said cautiously, not wanting sound overly obsessed.

"What do you want to know?" He asked.

"Well, what's your favorite color, for instance?" I inquired.

"My favorite color is radio." He replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Well, radio waves are electromagnetic radiation, just like any other colored light, and radio is my favorite color." He explained. I chuckled slightly.

"Okay, so what's your favorite food?"

"I'd have to say lasagne." He answered, "How about you?"

"I like ice cream the best." I said thoughtfully. It was classic, but true.

"How would you describe me?" I asked, hoping not to sound egotistical or self-centered. Alexander blushed.

"Uh, well, you're very nice." He squinted his eyes, "You're considerate, at least of me. You, you know, didn't judge me by my appearance."

"Your appearance is fine." I said, surprised, "Why would you think that?" He blushed even more.

"Thanks, but most people say I look like a nerd." He looked down.

"What's wrong with that?" I asked rhetorically.

"Well, girls don't like nerds." Alexander stated.

"I'm a girl," I looked at him, "and I like you." He returned my gaze.

"I, uh, like you too." He said. My heart skipped a beat. He had said this before, but I never became accustomed to it.

"Well, I like you," I took his hand, smiling at him. I could feel his heart beating faster, just by touching his palm, "And even more." Alexander said nothing for a few seconds.

"Me too, uh..." He said, his face reddening even more. "I like you... more, as well." His mouth slowly curved up into a smile.

I leaned closer to him. I could tell he didn't want to kiss me yet, but I leaned forward anyway. Alexander's head reflexively moved to the side and I settled for an extended hug. I could feel his heart pounding, and mine as well. In this moment, I felt how I imagined heaven could feel. I wanted to stay in his arms for eternity.

I could feel his sincerity, that I could trust him not to disappoint me, trust him to remain connected to me. Even if there were little chance of us staying together until we could get married, I knew that we would never part because he had wronged me.

* * *

**Well, it's been a long time coming, but I think this marks the official beginning of a new romance.**** :)  
**

**I really hope that this chapter was to your liking, believable and above all else; somewhat uplifting.  
**

**I would really appreciate if you would review my story, with any creative criticism. It really keeps me writing. Were it not for you, I would have abandoned my sequel, but now I've rediscovered my inspiration for it.  
**

**Thank you so much for waiting this long, and not forgetting about my story.  
**

**As always,**

**Unhello.  
**


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